I have some really sad & bad news to tell you all. Larry was on his way to work on Feb. 2nd & was killed in a car accident. This is so hard & we have been through a lot.

I know that Larry would want you all to know. I know some of the names in his address book & I want everyone to know.

Larry loved his family research so much. I told our girls that I am sure that Larry is up in Heaven talking to all the people he has researched & he would still be arguing about the right dates with them.

Please have a happy life & appreciate your family & friends. We miss Larry so much you cannot even imagine!!

I know that life goes on & time helps but it is going to be a long time for us to get to that family. If you knew Larry he had everything written
down & up to date right to the end. He was so organized. I wish I knew just half of what Larry knew. He was so smart.

Slippery road conditions and careless driving contributed to numerous accidents on Friday, including one that killed a Gainesville man who ran into the back of a fire truck.

The first accident turned into a series of collisions Friday morning, ending in the death of Larry Porter, 55. It started when an Alachua County school bus stopped to pick up a student at about 6:43 a.m. in Alachua and a car driven by Timothy James Lucas Jr. slid more than 225 feet into the back of the bus, said Maj. Clovis Watson Jr. with the Alachua Police Department.

Only the driver and one student were on board at the time, and no injuries were reported. Lucas was cited for careless driving.

Almost immediately after returning to the station, Gainesville Fire and Rescue was dispatched back to the scene for a second accident involving two cars.

GFR parked its fire engine in the northbound lane and left it to attend to the injured woman. Minutes later, Porter, of 1107 NW 57th St., slammed his 1991 Toyota into the back of the fire engine, said Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Mike Burroughs.

Witnesses told investigators that Porter was looking at the school bus crash and didn't see the fire truck in time. Witnesses blew their horns to warn him, but Porter wasn't able to stop in time, Burroughs said. It was raining at the time.

Porter, who moved to Gainesville nearly five years ago from Arkansas, was taken to Shands at the University of Florida, where he later died. He was employed at Regeneration Technology in Alachua.

The fire truck's lights and flashers were on while parked, said Gainesville Fire Rescue spokesman Stuart Schwartz.

"Our rescuers make every effort to park in the safest possible place, but sometimes there is no choice but to park on the side of a roadway or on a roadway," Schwartz said. "That's why we have many lights and flashers on our vehicle, so people can be forewarned to slow down and drive around the police or rescue vehicle."

The rescuers involved will get crisis counseling because they are so upset that a citizen lost his life, Schwartz said.

Nobody was charged in that crash.

A few hours later in Micanopy, a woman was trapped in her 1996 Chrysler for nearly 20 minutes at the intersection of U.S. 441 and County Road 234 as rescue crews were struggling with how to remove her from the mangled car.

Linda Winchenbach, 50, of Ocala failed to give right of way to a 1991 Ford Explorer traveling south on U.S. 441. When Winchenbach pulled out after stopping, she was hit on the left side.

The accident left her pinned inside the vehicle for more than 20 minutes as fire and rescue crews tried carefully to extract her from the car using the Jaws of Life.

Winchenbach's left door was smashed all the way into center console, which pinned her legs in an awkward position, said Alachua County Fire Rescue spokesman Justin Lagotic. ACFR firefighters also used a wench to pry the roof off from her vehicle.

She was airlifted to Shands at AGH in serious condition, Lagotic said.

The two men in the Explorer, Vincent Covert, 33, and Joseph Debose, 46, both of Gainesville, were transported to local hospitals. Their condition was unavailable on Friday.

A.P. Thompson can be reached at 374-5095 or thompsa@gvillesun.com. Kathy Ciotola can be reached at 338-3109 or ciotolk@gvillesun.com.

(3) Obituary from the February 4, 2001 issue of the Gainesville Sun:

Larry L. Porter

Larry L. Porter of Gainesville died Friday in Gainesville. He was 55.

Mr. Porter was an engineering manager.

Born in Ottumwa, Iowa, he moved from Little Rock, Ark., to Gainesville five years ago.

He was interested in genealogy.

Survivors include his wife, Pat Porter of Gainesville; two daughters, Jenifer Ann Porter and Susan Ellen Porter, both of Gainesville; a brother, Rod Porter of Monroe, Iowa; and his parents, Vernon and Lucille Porter of Hedrick, Iowa.

Expressions of sympathy may be made as donations to the American Cancer Society in Gainesville.